


When the Rain Falls

by TortiTabby



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Australia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries, Vacation, interactive introverts tour era, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 23:38:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18766684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TortiTabby/pseuds/TortiTabby
Summary: Phil woke up to the sound of rain drumming on the roof of their air b&b. It was a sound that he used to find comforting and relaxing, but now filled him with dread.The world changed for the worse while they were half a world away from home.Now they have to adapt to a strange new life but at least they had each other.





	When the Rain Falls

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Mandy!!!  
> I hope you have a great day full of all of your favorite things!  
> Hope you enjoy this fic!  
> Thank you for being my beta, Callie!

Phil woke up to the sound of rain drumming on the roof of their air b&b. It was a sound that he used to find comforting and relaxing, but now filled him with dread.

He bolted upright.

“Dan!” he called out nervously. When no reply came he rushed out of bed and into the hall. His sock covered feet slid on the hardwood, causing him to nearly topple over. It would be funny if it wasn’t all so serious; if his heart wasn’t pounding in his throat and tears pooling his eyes. 

“Phil. In here,” Dan called over to him, somber from the kitchen. He looked back towards the large window he was standing near worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He darted his eyes back at Phil who knew he didn’t have news he’d like.

“Martyn and Corn are out there. They went down to the beach like an hour or so ago. The skies were clear so we all thought it’d be fine.” 

Panic gripped Phil’s heart in a vice. They tried at all costs to not get caught out in the rain. When the storms came people seemed to just pass away spontaneously. They dropped on the streets like flies.  Now, Phil knew it was from a gas that was released by these new, strange storms. The rain that followed burned through roofs and buildings and if you were caught out in one if the gas didn’t get to you the rain would. 

It had started in big cities, eradicating any and all sense of security. The UK got hit hard and the last news they were able to receive was just a generalized idea that it wasn’t any good news. They were lucky to be on vacation in Australia in between dates of a world tour. It seemed trivial now. Just days after the rain started communication to the outside world diminished into nothing. 

  
  


“What?”’ he gasped and rushed to the window.

He could just barely make out the beach through the rain that was now beating down. Wind swept up loose leaves and branches and other foliage from the jungle they were located next to, making it even harder to see anything. Phil felt sick at the thought of them out there. He had lost so much already.

Thunder boomed and a flash of light lit up his view just enough to make out a bright orange jumper on the steps from the beach back up to the house. It was close. 

Cornelia bought it before it all went south and they all made plenty of jokes about it making her easy to locate. 

It wasn’t that funny now.

Phil took a deep breath and pulled his shirt over his nose. Before he could give himself enough time to second guess it, he tore the glass door open wide and ran outside. 

He heard an outraged shout from behind him but ran on pure adrenaline faster than his long legs had ever carried him.

Cornelia was limping with one arm draped over Martyn’s shoulders. Phil didn’t hesitate to throw her other arm around his as they hurried back to the door Dan was watching from.

Phil hissed as the rain burned his skin. The smell of burning fabric reached his nostrils as the shirt on his back sizzled in his ear getting eaten away by the storm.

They reached the door and collapsed inside. 

Dan slammed the sliding door shut and rushed to help them.

The arms in Martyn’s coat  were still smoking and totally singed. Phil knew that he had tried to take on the worst of it. 

They gulped in the fresh clean air and looked around at each other. 

Martyn’s face split into a grin and rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

“I swear it was clear before we went down to the beach. I didn’t even grab the fish we caught.”

Cornelia shoved him gently. “It’s not funny you lunatic.” But she was smiling. “It was proper scary when I twisted my ankle.”

Phil grinned to himself, the rush of the moment was fading and nothing seemed as serious as it had. He sighed and looked up at Dan.

The smile slid from his face as he realized he had  _ royally _ fucked up.

Dan was standing with his arms crossed in front of him. Phil could make out the crescent moon shaped indents on the inside of his arm, he was gripping so tightly. He was trembling and his lips were pulled in a tight frown. He wasn’t looking at Phil. 

Phil pushed himself up and groaned. His arms had been bare when he ran out and he was paying for it- they were covered with burns from where the rain ate away at his skin. 

Dan’s gaze hardened but didn’t move over to Phil.

“I– I’m going to go back to sleep for awhile.” He gritted out. The laughter instantly died down and Phil could tell Martyn was trying to make himself as invisible as he could. 

Without glancing up, Dan wedged past where they were sprawled on the ground and disappeared into their room.  The sound of the lock turning was loud in the spacious, now silent house. 

Phil sighed and glanced over to his brother. 

“Mate, you can’t blame him,” he said softly. 

Cornelia grabbed onto Phil’s ankle and squeezed gently. “Maybe we should all keep ourselves busy. This morning started out all wrong. Keep me company in the lounge? I found more rope to weave into sacks.” 

Phil rubbed his eyes and kicked down the guilt that was bubbling up inside of him. He just nodded and sat close to her once she had her supplies. She handed him a bundle of rope and they went to work.

 

“Right. I’m going to go find where we can look for supplies next.” Martyn stretched and placed a kiss in Cornelia’s hair. “The skies are clear now and it never comes twice a day. I think we should do a quick supply run to somewhere nearby.” He looked at Phil and then nervously towards the door Dan was still locked behind.

“Get Dan on board, yeah? We’ll get everything else ready.”

 

Phil let out a breath as he stood at the door and apprehensively knocked.

“It’s done raining, Dan. We’re going for a supply run.” No answer.

“I don’t know where–”

The door swung open and a Dan just as irritable as earlier stood there. This time making full eye contact with narrowed angry eyes. “You aren’t leaving me here if that’s what you were about to suggest.” 

Phil put his hands up in surrender. “Dan I messed up- I-”

“You  _ aren’t _ leaving me here. Let’s go.” He walked over to Cornelia and helped her carry the bags that Phil’s fingers were still raw from struggling with.

They made their way out the front door and started down the windy abandoned Australia road. 

It was a remote place to begin with but now it was eerie with the lack of any other signs of life, save for the occasional bird or lizard they’d run across. 

It seemed like there was nothing after the first big storm. They watched in horror as the rain poured and the trees melted. They were the only living things for miles but as time went on it seemed like more and more animals returned to reclaim the land. 

 

They reached a skeleton of an old convenience store. It’s shelves had been ransacked long before they got there but it seemed like there was still plenty of finds to be excited about. 

“There’s a ton of batteries over here,” Dan called over. Martyn hurried to their side and Cornelia looped her arm through Phil’s as they stocked up on food that would last. It was mostly junk food but there was some nutritional value if you squinted hard enough. 

A familiar red bag caught Phil’s eye and pulled on his heart. A part of him mourned for the days that were full of these bags and easier problems to solve. 

Not that long ago Phil would have hurried over to Dan and teased him about his old branding, pushing the malteaser’s in his face with talk of Delia Smith and llamas and all of the things that would make Dan cringe and roll his eyes with that smitten smile that warmed Phil from his head to his toes. 

Now he couldn’t help grabbing as many packets as he could stuff in his bag. At the end of the day these were a candy that Dan still loved, and something that might make him happier; might make the bad times slightly better with the warm memories of their past with the taste of smooth chocolate on their tongues. 

Cornelia gave him a knowing look before they moved on. 

 

They got back to the house just as the sun was setting, cutting it close for a second time that day. The night sky was unnaturally dark and the risk of not seeing storm clouds roll in wasn’t one they were willing to take. 

The burns that littered Phil’s arms ached as he let the bags drop to their kitchen table with a low hiss.

Dan’s eyes flicked over to him when he cried out and he sighed.

“Let’s get you fixed up.” He said quietly.  Dan lead the way back to their room.

Phil shut the door gently behind him and waited for the  _ other _ storm to hit.

“Sit down.” Dan said softly and patted the bed. He busied himself getting the burn ointment they kept an obscene stock of. 

Phil slid out of his shirt and sat on the bed. 

He watched as Dan worked, back to him. His shoulders were high and tense and guit twisted in Phil’s gut. A vague part of him longed for the stash of candy to surprise Dan with, but it was probably better not to taint it with the taste of the inevitable fight that had been brewing all day.

“Dan.” Phil whispered. “I’m–”

“I don’t even want to talk about this, Phil.” Dan said coldly. He sat down next to Phil and went to work dressing his wounds.

“Sorry, I-”

“Stop.  _ Stop _ .” Dan’s voice was thick. He meticulously covered the new burns on Phil’s arm with the gel. His fingers gently brushed over the old ones and lingered there before moving on.

Phil faced forward and solemnly let Dan fix him up until he heard a faint sniff.

He turned and grabbed a hold of Dan’s hand, stilling him. “ _ Dan _ .” 

Dan was blinking back an onslaught of tears. Phil pulled him to his lap and wrapped his arms tight around him.

Dan pushed against his chest and opened his mouth to scold him before falling forward against Phil’s chest and finally breaking into full sobs.

“You could have died Phil. Easily. What if you died. I don’t know if I could– I’m so mad at you.” He shoved Phil’s chest again with a huff and stared angrily away from him. 

“I’m here.” Phil said simply. “I didn’t die. I’m sorry I– I can’t imagine if it was you and you just  _ ran _ outside in front of me in the middle of a storm….” He felt the air whoosh out of him at the idea of their places being swapped. The thought alone made him dizzy.

He glanced down to see a hole burnt through the sleeve of Dan’s shirt.

He looked up at him in confusion.

“I followed you out but I got scared,” Dan said and looked away in shame.

“It was stupid for me to run out there. It would have been pointless and even stupider for you to follow.” He grabbed Dan’s chin gently and turned his head to face him. 

“I’m so sorry Dan.” Phil whispered, his own voice choked with tears now. “I really just wasn’t thinking and ran out after them.” 

“I understand why you did it.” Dan shrugged. It went unsaid that given the option Dan would do the same for his family. That he wishes he had the opportunity to run outside and help his brother in.

“Still.” Phil insisted. He pulled Dan fully on top of him and laid back on their bed. 

Dan curled up on his chest and looked up at him, his bright brown eyes big and bloodshot. 

“I’m-”

“Stop apologizing you Oaf.” He leaned forward and kissed Phil’s chest gently. “Wanna sleep. Can we just end this day already?”

“I think we can do whatever you want us to do for  _ awhile _ ,” Phil laughed.

 

They spent a while just holding each other tight. Phil’s arms ached but he wasn’t about to loosen his grip unless Dan asked, which was seeming just as unlikely. They were both still here. They had each other. It was grounding and helped clear Phil’s head. He held on to that thought as he finally drifted to sleep, hours after Dan had gone slack in his arms.

 

The next day they would wake up to the sun shining and birds chirping. They would spend all morning at the beach and for a few moments it would feel like they were still on a vacation and the loss wouldn’t weigh heavy on them with each breath. 

The afternoon would be spent with Phil bombarding a cackling Dan with chocolate after chocolate. They would eat the sweets until their stomachs ached like irresponsible children until night would fall and they’d be tangled up in the sheets together, working up a sweat and swallowing down each other’s sounds and reveling in the feeling of being so alive. 

If they woke up in the early morning before the sun rose to the sound of a storm beating down on the roof, and held onto each other tight enough Phil’s arms ached in the morning, they still had the good moments to cling to. 

They still had each other. 


End file.
